Photo by Stephanie Elverd The EPA Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to return the natural flow of water back into Sulphur Run. Currently, rainwater and snowmelt that comes into contact with potentially contaminated soil areas is collected. The collected water is then either stored for off-site removal as hazardous material or treated at the Norfolk Southern wastewater facility (pictured above) and then disposed of as non-hazardous.

EAST PALESTINE — The Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency reported in its latest update to the agency’s informational website dedicated to last year’s East Palestine train derailment, that remediation efforts are approaching a milestone with plans to return the natural flow of water back into Sulphur Run.

“To prepare for rainwater and water from the upstream wetlands to flow naturally on-site, the north and south ditches alongside the tracks will be evaluated in areas, starting at the western-most end of the derailment site,” the EPA reported. “Robust testing under EPA and Ohio EPA guidance, oversight, and approval will ensure the soils around and within the ditches have no remaining contamination.”

The agency explained that testing will be conducted of the water flow and once testing confirms water is safe, flow will be redirected back into the stream that snakes through the village. The EPA said “these changes are based on extensive sampling and monitoring data, including confirmatory on-site sampling which acts as a ‘double-check’ to ensure all contamination from the derailment has been removed.”

The EPA stressed that no water that is currently contained in the tanks on Pleasant Drive will be reintroduced to Sulphur Run, and that rainwater and snowmelt that comes into contact with potentially contaminated soil areas will continue to be collected. The collected water will either be stored for off-site removal as hazardous material or treated at the Norfolk Southern wastewater facility and then disposed of as non-hazardous.

The EPA reported the process of returning the flow of groundwater to the Sulphur Run “will begin to occur in the next two-to-four weeks, with the overall process extending into the summer.”

In October, the agency utilized its authority under the Clean Water Act and ordered Norfolk Southern to investigate the visible sheen in both Sulphur and Leslie Runs. That investigation included an assessment that graded the sheen on a scale of 0-3 with 0 indicating no sheen and 3 indicating heavy sheen. Samples of the creek sediment were also taken for testing during that process.

“While the results of those assessments indicate that surface water and air in and around the waterways do not show derailment-related contamination, areas of oil sheening were identified in both streams,” the EPA reported. “To address these areas, Norfolk Southern has submitted a sediment mitigation work plan to EPA for approval as the final step in returning the waterways to their pre-derailment conditions. When the weather warms up in the spring, Norfolk Southern will start the work to target and remove oil discharged during the derailment, including additional stream/sediment washing and physical removal of sediments, as appropriate. This cleanup will be overseen by EPA and Ohio EPA.”

An interactive map detailing the sheen assessment survey is available at epa.gov/east-palestine-oh-train-derailment/qualitative-sheen-assessment-results.